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WYPR: Could Polio Vaccine Corral Covid-19?

August 28, 2020 | Sheilah Kast and Melissa Gerr

In this July 29, 1962 file photo, Mrs. Dayton George holds her son, Brian, 2, as she and her family take the Sabin oral polio vaccine in Richardson, Texas. CREDIT FERD KAUFMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Source: WYPR

A safe, effective vaccine against Covid-19 could resurrect jobs, send kids back to classrooms--change our lives. But how safe and effective? And how quickly can we have it?

Dr. Robert Gallo, the AIDS-research pioneer now leading virus science at the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Global Virus Network, argues we could get much of the benefit by inoculating people with an old, very cheap drug -- the oral Polio vaccine developed seven decades ago.

Gallo contends it would trigger our ‘innate immunity’-- the body’s emergency response when a threat shows up.

Full interview on WYPR

Read the full story at: https://www.wypr.org/post/could-polio-vaccine-corral-covid-19

Contact

Institute of Human Virology
Jennifer Gonzales
Public Relations & Communications Manager
jennifer.gonzales@ihv.umaryland.edu

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    Monday, July 06, 2020

    Sputnik Radio: What If There Is No Vaccine for COVID-19?

    On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Robert Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and international scientific adviser of the Global Virus Network. What would you think if someone told you that we already have a vaccine that at least helps fight Covid-19? That may already be the case. Two American scientists, Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Konstantin Chumakov, are positing that decades-old live vaccines for things like polio and tuberculosis strengthen the immune system’s first line of defense a more general way to fight infection. And the history books show us that that sometimes translates into at least some cross-protection against completely different viruses.


    Friday, July 03, 2020

    KUSI San Diego News: Dr. Robert Gallo suggests an oral polio vaccine could help fight coronavirus

    Dr. Robert Gallo from the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Global Virus Network wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. The opinion piece stated that OPV, oral polio vaccine, could be a cheap and effective way to fight coronavirus. Dr. Gallo discussed his opinion piece on Good Morning San Diego.


    Thursday, July 02, 2020

    13D Global Strategy & Research Report

    COVID-19 outbreaks are multiplying and immunity may be short-lived. Could existing “live” vaccines, which stimulate innate immunity, outshine vaccines targeting the “spike” protein?


    Tuesday, June 30, 2020

    Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: An Old Vaccine May Help Against Coronavirus: A tablet for polio boosts innate immunity, which fights other viruses.

    In this op-ed coauthored by Dr. Robert C. Gallo and Daniel J. Arbess, they discuss how “An Old Vaccine May Help Against Coronavirus: A tablet for polio boosts innate immunity, which fights other viruses.”


    Monday, June 29, 2020

    Baltimore Magazine Special Edition: Dr. Gallo Featured

    Dr. Robert Gallo is featured in Baltimore Magazine's special edition, "On the Front Lines: Acts of Courage and Kindness in the Age of Coronavirus."


    Friday, June 26, 2020

    IHV in the News

    Links to news stories featuring the IHV from June 11 to June 25, 2020.


    Thursday, June 25, 2020

    The New York Times: Dr. Robert Gallo: The Case for a Stopgap Vaccine

    In a letter to the editor to The New York Times entitled, "Dr. Robert Gallo: The Case for a Stopgap Vaccine," the noted virologist and head of the IHV says a polio vaccine may be an ideal solution until we find a Covid-specific vaccine.


    Wednesday, June 24, 2020

    The New York Times: Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint at Coronavirus Strategy

    The New York Times: Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint at Coronavirus Strategy: A married pair of virologists in Moscow tested a vaccine on their own children in the 1950s. Now, a side effect they found is sparking new hope for a defense against the coronavirus.


    Tuesday, June 23, 2020

    France 24: Dr. Mohammad Sajadi Speaks with France 24 on COVID-19 and Seasonality

    Does Covid-19 spread faster in winter? Modelling by US researchers suggests the transmission of Covid-19 could be seasonal. Mohammad Sajadi, associate professor at University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology, says the virus first spread in areas of low temperature and low humidity, common to winter time in temperate areas.


    Friday, June 12, 2020

    Institute of Human Virology and Italian Researchers Find Higher Daily Temperatures Lead to a Decrease in COVID-19 Related Deaths

    Insights into population density and daily temperatures provide a path to public health strategies. The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a Global Virus Network (GVN) Center of Excellence, in collaboration with scientists from Campus Biomedico in Rome and Ulisse Biomed and University of Trieste, in Trieste, Italy announced today the results of studies showing an inverse correlation between average high daily temperatures and COVID-19 related death rates in different geographical areas.


    Friday, June 12, 2020

    The Washington Post: We shouldn’t care who wins the vaccine ‘race’

    Dr. Robert Gallo writes a Letter to the Editor to The Washington Post entitled, “We shouldn’t care who wins the vaccine ‘race’,” regarding their June 4 front-page article “Cold War echoes in race for vaccine,” about the “race” among nations, notably the United States, China, and Russia and other European nations for development of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.


    Friday, June 12, 2020

    CNN Health: An Existing Polio Vaccine Could Help Protect Against Coronavirus, Top Experts Say

    CNN: There is plenty of evidence that existing inoculations such as polio vaccines protect children against a wide range of infections and it's worth trying them out against the new coronavirus, a team of experts wrote in Science magazine Thursday.


    Thursday, June 11, 2020

    NBC News: Polio Vaccine Could Give Temporary Protection Against COVID-19, Scientists Hope

    NBC News: As the world waits for a coronavirus vaccine, some scientists are proposing that existing vaccines could give the body’s immune system a much-needed temporary boost to stave off infection. It’s still unclear whether such an approach would work, and some experts are skeptical. Others — including researchers in Israel, the Netherlands and Australia — are already investigating whether a tuberculosis vaccine could help jump-start the immune system and make COVID-19 less deadly, though the World Health Organization strongly advises against using that vaccine until it’s proven effective against the coronavirus.


    Thursday, June 11, 2020

    Global Virus Network Suggests Oral Polio Vaccine May Provide Temporary Protection Against COVID-19

    The Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition comprised of the world’s preeminent human and animal virologists from 53 Centers of Excellence, including the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and 10 Affiliates in 32 countries, published a viewpoint in Science today that the stimulation of innate immunity by live attenuated vaccines in general, and oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) in particular, could provide temporary protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).


    Tuesday, June 02, 2020

    UM School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology Awarded Grants to Strengthen COVID-19 Response in Sub-Saharan Africa

    The Center for International Health, Education and Biosecurity (Ciheb) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology was awarded $4 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response activities in Botswana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Mozambique.


    Monday, May 11, 2020

    BBC Global News Interviews Dr. Robert Gallo on Oral Polio Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and More

    Dr. Robert Gallo appeared on BBC World News with Matthew Amroliwala for a one-on-one, lengthy interview during their Coronavirus Explained segment.


    Saturday, May 09, 2020

    Dr. Robert Gallo Discuss COVID-19 Research on Aljazeera News

    Aljazeera discusses the status of therapy, testing and vaccine research on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 with Dr. Robert Gallo.


    Thursday, May 07, 2020

    The Disappointing Truth About Antibody Testing: There’s still a lot we don’t know about COVID-19

    Dr. Robert Gallo discusses the status of COVID-19 antibody test with Vox's The Verge


    Wednesday, May 06, 2020

    The Coronavirus Appears to have Mutated. What Does that Mean for Contagiousness?

    While small mutations in the virus's genetic code are evident, it's unclear what these changes mean for people, if anything at all.


    Saturday, May 02, 2020

    IHV's Dr. Robert Gallo on FOX's Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren

    Overtime: Dr. Robert Gallo talks coronavirus treatments and antibody testing.


    Saturday, May 02, 2020

    Dr. Robert Gallo on iHeart Radio to Discuss COVID-19

    Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring experts on COVID-19-related issues, including the co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the senior vice president for U.S. Programs & Advocacy at Save the Children, and the managing editor of the Military Times. Topics range from a discussion about why some people infected by the coronavirus are asymptomatic, while others face severe reactions and even death, to assistance for impoverished children, and a breakdown of the impact the virus is having on the U.S. military and veterans.


    Friday, May 01, 2020

    Could an Oral Polio Vaccine Stop the Coronavirus Pandemic?

    A YouTube video by the American Chemical Society and produced by PBS.


    Friday, May 01, 2020

    NYT Op-Ed Features Gallo-Chumakov Oral Polio Vaccine for COVID-19 Idea

    What if We Already Have a Coronavirus Vaccine? Researchers are testing whether decades-old vaccines for polio and tuberculosis could protect against infection.


    Saturday, April 11, 2020

    Institute of Human Virology Honors Legacy of Maeve Kennedy McKean With Global Public Health Fellowship

    The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine announced today the Maeve Kennedy McKean Global Public Health Fellowship, named in honor of the public health activist, whose inspiring life ended tragically alongside her oldest son last week. The first fellow will arrive on July 1 and will work on the Institute’s efforts in ending the HIV epidemic in Africa within its Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity (CIHEB) and Division of Clinical Care and Research.


    Thursday, March 19, 2020

    What COVID-19 Symptoms Look Like, Day By Day

    (Source: Business Insider) According to the World Health Organization-China Joint Mission on COVID-19, as of February 20, 80% of laboratory-confirmed cases were mild to moderate, 14% were severe, and 6% were critical. Just to be clear, a mild case of COVID-19 is not like a mild cold. The symptoms will still be pretty severe. Anything less than needing oxygen puts you in this category. Severe cases do need supplemental oxygen, and critical ones are defined by respiratory or multi-organ failure.


    Wednesday, March 06, 2019

    UMSOM Researcher Elected as Fellow to American Academy of Microbiology

    Richard Y. Zhao, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Associate Member of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), has been elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM). AAM is an honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).


    Tuesday, December 04, 2018

    Institute of Human Virology Researchers Discover That a Bacterial Protein Promotes Cancer

    The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) announced today the discovery that DnaK, a protein of the bacterium mycoplasma, interferes with the mycoplasma-infected cell’s ability to respond to and repair DNA damage, a known origin of cancer.


    Monday, December 03, 2018

    Institute of Human Virology Names Dr. Man Charurat as Director of the Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity

    The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine today announced the appointment of Man E. Charurat, PhD, MHS, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention at the IHV as the Director of IHV’s Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity (CIHEB). Dr. Charurat will replace Deus Bazira, DrPH, MPH, MBA. The announcement was made by Robert C. Gallo, MD, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-Founder and Director of the IHV, and Co-Founder and Director of the Global Virus Network (GVN).